Heathers Reboot Put On Hold!

HA! Where’s The Simpsons character, Nelson Muntz, when you need him to release his embarrassing catch phrase? If you’re anyone who lives for cult films, you’ll recall Heathers as an 80s comedy where outcasts begin murdering the popular clique in high school. The tongue-in-cheek-movie starred Winona Ryder and Shannen Doherty, solidifying their recognition as gay Celebrities. The film regained momentum in the LGBTQ community during the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, when a “mean girl” clique of Raja, Manila Luzon, Delta Work, and Carmen Carrera dubbed themselves The Heathers. With the many reboots in Hollywood, was one of the cult classics going to take a hit?

Yep, you may have already heard, but it’s official that the new reboot which no one asked for, Heathers, has been put on hold and will likely never come to fruition. I’m about to list the reasons, but hey, The Daily Beast, just gave the series a SCATHING review. I normally am against using capital letters, but the point really needs to be stressed that the review given disgraces the series and mentions it is an “LGBTQ, Trumpish-Nightmare”. Heathers was being rebooted not as a film – but as a television series – because Entertainment Executives know exactly how to get us to not turn on our televisions or devices to watch something. Okay, I kid – slightly. However, the rebooted Heathers were now a group of essential outcasts: An overweight girl, a flamboyant boy, and the sassy Ethnic friend. Yeah, all of that sounds great on paper, but not when these are the exact people who the original Heathers would’ve torn to shreds. The original Heathers were all interchangeable and believed everyone should be exactly like them. That literally was the whole point of the movie. But, we may never get to a chance to see how unbearable the series would’ve been.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the premiere of the rebooted Heathers has been delayed due to the Parkland High School shooting in Florida which occurred on February 14th. The distributor, Paramount Network, released a statement:

“Paramount Network’s original series Heathers is a satirical comedy that takes creative risks in dealing with many of society’s most challenging subjects ranging from personal identity to race and socio-economic status to gun violence. While we stand firmly behind the show, in light of the recent tragic events in Florida and out of respect for the victims, their families and loved ones, we feel the right thing to do is delay the premiere until later this year.”

Basically, they don’t want to step on toes. Which is great. But, now I cannot imagine what kind of content or horrible lines these outcast “Heather” characters are spewing. I mean, the Daily Beast did try telling us that the show is far from the original and is almost insulting to anyone who is different compared to the norm in society – or heterosexuality. Groan. Please, rather than delaying the series…can you just like, cancel it?

The pilot episode was available early, and I was happy to watch it on iTunes. Yes, it's tacky and campy and very, very outside the cult film. But there were great nods, and reuses of the classic lines and themes from the film. It was fun, but wildly different for those purists, you might hate it. The parents rather distracted by television, spy novels and crap pate are distant and self absorbed with iPads and crap hummus. I am a huge fan of the film, I enjoyed the reworking they gave it when they transformed it into the musical, and I would probably have watched the full season, mostly because the pilot was so bizarre and I'm very good at differentiating. I'm not a purist in that a book is better than a film, etc. because I can find enjoyment in both in all.

That having been said, I believe putting this series on hold for a later date will ultimately lead to its scrapping entirely, because our recent history, there will always be a new tragic event. There will never be a good time to present a satire that involves high school students murdering each other. So either present it or scrap it.

First of all, since time moves in a forward direction having this "interchangeable" theme move from a simple popular rich white girl to a broader psychological, social, and disingenuous altruism makes it much more relevant in the way society is split now more than ever. The prevailing zeitgeist in America today is division on a philosophical basis. You can be a black homosexual Jew and be republican, you could be a rich white cis gender male Protestant and be a democrat. Should the Parklands' shooting be respected? Yes. Buffy did it with "Earshot", and that worked. Delay the show? Yes. Cancel the show? No. Just like movie explores the existential dullness of being singularly minded, motivated only by pressures be they peer, amorous, or social; so can this reboot, with themes that are much more fleshed out and well rounded.